The present invention relates to a device for supporting and fixing bus-bars in cabinets for switchboards and the like which has improved functions and characteristics.
More particularly, the device according to the invention has a structure which is unique in its simplicity both from the point of view of production and from the point of view of practical use, allowing to reduce the components required and therefore the production costs, to facilitate assembly and to optimize the bus-bar support and insulation functions.
It is known that switchboards for distributing electric power to a plurality of electrical devices, such as for example circuit breakers, use a system of mutually parallel metal bus-bars.
Each one of said bus-bars is connected to a corresponding pole of the electric power supply mains; the connection between the bus-bars and the devices is provided by means of suitable conductors, for example laminae, which are shaped appropriately according to the type of device.
Inside the cabinets of the switchboards, the bus-bars are geometrically coupled to suitable insulation and support devices which, in addition to electrically insulating the bus-bars with respect to each other, allow to connect them to a supporting structure, typically the frame of the cabinet. In this manner, any electrodynamic stresses produced by the flow of current in the bus-bars are further discharged onto the structure of the cabinet, which is stronger.
In the current state of the art, using conventional insulation and support devices entails drawbacks.
In practical applications it is known to use insulation and support devices which are constituted by a main insulating body which comprises at least two appropriately shaped parts which geometrically couple to the bus-bars, insulating them from each other, and are further mutually connected by means of fixing systems, such as for example screws etcetera. The bus-bars are further connected to the supporting frame by using additional components which are fixed to the main insulating body and to the supporting structure.
This solution is clearly disadvantageous, since it requires the use of a plurality of constructive components and has a distinct separation between the parts for coupling and insulating the bus-bars and those for fixing to the supporting structure; this leads to structural complexity, with a consequent increase in production times and costs and in the time and difficulties entailed by assembly.
Another typical drawback of conventional devices is poor flexibility in use according to the position of the bus-bars to be supported. Inside the cabinets, owing to application requirements, the bus-bars are in fact arranged with a substantially vertical or horizontal axis, in a line or staggered with respect to each other; in these situations, conventional solutions generally provide for the use of a plurality of devices which have a different shape according to the position of the bus-bars, consequently increasing production costs.
Another drawback of conventional devices is the fact that when the bus-bars are arranged vertically it is necessary to use a base supporting element constituted by a shaped insulating body which couples to the bus-bars and is in turn fixed to a base plate according to a solution which is structurally complicated and expensive.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for supporting and fixing bus-bars in cabinets for switchboards and the like which can be provided by means of a reduced number of components, allowing to reduce production costs and at the same time optimize the bus-bar support and insulation functions.
Within the scope of this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for supporting and fixing bus-bars in cabinets for switchboards whose structure allows to couple it to horizontally and vertically arranged bus-bars, distinguishing from the conventional devices in that it provides greater flexibility of use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for supporting and fixing bus-bars in cabinets for switchboards which allows to facilitate assembly and connection to the bus-bars and fixing to the supporting structure, thus reducing its installation times.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for supporting and fixing bus-bars in cabinets for switchboards which is highly reliable, relatively easy to manufacture and at competitive costs.
This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for supporting and fixing bus-bars in cabinets for switchboards, characterized in that it comprises:
a first element, constituted by a body made of insulating material, which has a first side provided with means for direct engagement to a supporting frame and a second side provided with a plurality of first seats for coupling to corresponding bus-bars;
a second element, constituted by a body made of insulating material which has a shaped side along which a plurality of second seats are provided for coupling to said bus-bars, said first and second elements being mutually connected in order to geometrically couple said first and second seats and to clamp the bus-bars inside the seats.
The device according to the invention has the considerable advantage of integrating in one of its components the means for engaging the supporting structure; in this manner the components to be used are reduced and the assembly operations are simplified.